


Right Where We Belong

by Chokiba



Series: Into the Dark [1]
Category: Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Drama, F/M, Family, Fantasy, Multi, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-11-16
Updated: 2013-05-15
Packaged: 2017-11-18 19:54:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 19,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/564670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chokiba/pseuds/Chokiba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sisters Annie, Jamie, and Thea Summers are all each other have in the world and it shows in their dependence of each other.  A walk through the park tests that bond when all three sisters find themselves separated and thrust into a new world they don't understand.  Now they each find themselves with people a purpose, something that they've never had before.  But as they find themselves staying longer and longer they begin to realize there might be no way back, and they might not want one if they can find it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thea the Mother

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story that I have been working on for years and have even gone back to rewrite though it's never been officially finished. That just has to change. Anyway the rating in this story mostly applies to the language used (usually by Miss Annie) and some of the violence that will pop up though there might be hints at things of a more sexual nature. I won't write it out, just warning you that it'll be there at some point.

"I can't find it!" Jamie yelled, her voice sounding shrill this time. I knew why my sister was upset, but it didn't stop me from flinching a little before I leaned back towards her.

"It's going to be alright Jamie," I said trying to use a gentle tone as I stroked her back. "We'll find it." Poor Jamie was so afraid. It made me furious. I could almost forgive the insane antics that she was currently going through. As much as I understood them though, they irritated me. For a girl who was nineteen years old, she had never been able to act that and it bothered me.

Unshed tears shone in Jamie's eyes as I looked down on them. "How do you know Thea?" Jamie groaned. She was so childlike at this moment. It was moments like this when I felt guilt for being agitated with her. She wasn't this way because she wanted to be. She was this way because she was falling apart again. It didn't happen often, but when it did...

Well I usually left that part to Annie.

"Because we're not going to stop looking until we find it," I promised her. I looked over at Annie already knowing she agreed with me. Where I had always been the diplomatic one of the family, Annie had never been one to keep from throwing a punch. Some days that was a good thing. Some days, it truly worried me.

"I have a pretty good idea where it is Jamie," Annie said gruffly. Her pretty face was adorned with her usual scowl as she tried not to show how much our little sister's pain was killing her. "I'll get it back to you, don't worry."

"Thank you Annie," Jamie whispered as she clung to me. Annie left us alone. It was quiet in our apartment as I sat with Jamie and waited for Annie's return with the lost treasure. I hated that our lives had become this. We were rather pathetic. We relied on each other and damn the world. Even work was undependable and scare. Not for lack of effort mind, but just for lack it would appear. Or maybe it was spite. Maybe it was uncaring. Maybe it was just life's typical cruelty. I do not know. All I knew was that we were desperate and near destitute again. It was an endless cycle. It was life. So ordinary that I should not have been surprised by it. But it was still painful and disappointing.

Especially when I had to watch Jamie suffer like this.

Annie was a half hour gone before she returned. She tossed Jamie's treasure to the fragile girl's waiting hands. Jamie took it and a peaceful look stole over her face. She slid the ring on her finger and stared at it. It had been our mother's wedding ring. A silver band was etched with Celtic designs. We each had one thing left from our mother. When it came to our father, we hadn't gotten so lucky, or unlucky if you asked Annie. We had no pictures of them. A few memories. It was rather pathetic really, a sad parallel to our lives. It was a near and inescapable truth. We just left it at that. Annie's gift from our mother was hidden, as always. It was simple. A silver armband that could always be found adorning her upper arm, an heirloom that had been brought over from Scotland some two hundred years before. I had a Celtic knot pendant that had once been on a simple silver chain. Now it was held around my neck by a thin strip of leather.

These things were the most precious things in the world to us. It was no wonder that it seemed to be the only thing that kept our sister...well...sane. After all that she had gone through, most people expected her to be institutionalized and forgotten. We had refused and little by little, we had tried to create a world for her that might save her from the darkness that had been forced onto her as a child when we couldn't protect her. Every time that ring was taken, and there was no doubt in my mind that it had been taken too, it was like a symbol of that powerlessness we had all felt then.

"Let's get out of the house," Jamie finally interjected into the silence.

Annie and I looked at her calmly. I was curious in truth. Annie was scowling. "Why do we want to leave the apartment again?" Annie growled.

"Because you're going to go out and kill someone if we don't go with you," Jamie said simply.

Annie's scowl deepened and I couldn't help but burst out laughing. The truth was written on Annie's face. She had been considering going out and hurting someone. I knew immediately it was whoever had taken Jamie's ring. She wouldn't have taken the time to do it when she retrieved the treasure. Her utmost thoughts would have been turned towards our sister. Now there was time to think of revenge though and Annie had always enjoyed meting such things out. And Jamie knew, could read us both like books. It was always refreshing when she did it to Annie though. She had too many secrets.

"Jamie is right Annie. We can't afford to have you talk your way out of another assault charge. One of these days, the judge is going to stop fining you and actually throw you in jail," I pointed out. The scowl she gave me told me that she knew I was right which was why I pressed my luck a few moments longer. "And if it were anyone else, I would say good riddance, but you happen to be my sister and for some reason, I care about you. Silly thing isn't it?"

"You care too much Thea," Annie growled standing up. Even as she turned, I could see the hint of a smile tipping her lips. I had won yet again. That gave me a bit of pride. It wasn't easy to beat Annie, but every now and then I could get it done. "Alright, where do you want to go?"

Jamie and I exchanged glances and I inclined my head slightly. Jamie's face lit up. We all knew what she was going to say before the words slipped from her lips but we allowed them to slip out nonetheless. "The trails," she announced with a firm nod of her head.

Annie groaned causing me to laugh again as she gave into Jamie's enthusiasm. "Let's get to it then. I want to be there and back before sundown."


	2. Jamie the Child

The trails were beautiful, maybe that was why they were my favorite place in the world. They were a popular place for families and friends to go especially on the weekends. It was a Thursday however. Thursday meant that the trails were empty which allowed us a time where we could simply exist in a world without anyone else.

I dreamed of a world like that every night as I slept in my bed, twisting the ring that I tried to keep forever on my finger. My hand reached up and I grabbed the ring around my right middle finger and started to twist it out of habit. I knew that my sisters questioned my need for the ring, but it was how I coped. I always wondered if they knew that was why or if they just thought that I was crazy. It was an odd paranoia that was ever present in my mind. Then again when everyone else thinks your crazy...why wouldn't your family?

Annie and Thea each hooked a hand in the crook of my elbows allowing me to lead the way as we moved forward into the trees. There were several trails within the park area, but one had always been my favorite. It had always felt like a place that I could go and feel safe, accepted even. There, my sisters and I could create a world where no one judged us, no one hurt us. That meant everything. Especially to me.

Especially to me.

I chose my favorite path and simply closed my eyes, almost skipping as we moved along it. Nature sang around us in a brilliant melody that I always missed when we had to leave. It was beautiful and perfect. That was the only way that I could describe it. I closed my eyes as we walked down the familiar path. The further we went, the air grew colder as if a light mist had began to descend on the world around us. And opening my eyes, I saw just that.

Breaking away from my sisters, I couldn't help but laugh as I danced through the thin white clouds. It felt glorious. The mist soon turned into a full out rain. I paused in one of the openings between the trees and simply allowed my head to fall back and my tongue to stick out. I caught the rain on my tongue as I waited to hear their admonishments for being so silly.

"Sometimes Jamie...I wonder about you," Annie chided with a sigh behind me. Turning around I grinned at my older sister. I knew that Annie had a good heart. And I also knew that she was the way she was because of me. She didn't seem to mind it, but it always made me feel a little guilty when I thought about that fact. Sometimes I would wonder: what would Annie be like if it wasn't for me? Maybe her life would have been better. I would never really know.

It didn't make things any better.

Thea stopped alongside Annie and brushed her hair back over her shoulder. "We should probably head back," she pointed out. I knew she was right, but it didn't stop me from feeling this heavy sense of disappointment. I didn't want to leave. Even if it was raining. This was my perfect world. Leaving it meant having to admit that the world wouldn't be perfect, could never be perfect.

I looked up and was about to declare defeat when I realized something. Annie and Thea were fading. Through their bodies, I could see the outlines of the trees behind them, even as the rain began to lighten. "Annie...Thea..."

Panic began to well up inside of me, worse than when I had realized that my ring was gone. The ring might have been my sanity, but my sisters were my life. I might be able to survive losing the ring, but I would never be able to survive losing them.

I watched as their own panic began to set in. Thea's a visible and tangible thing as she started to run towards me. Annie's was something else, more shock as she looked down at herself and then up at me and at Thea. This was wrong. So wrong. How could it be happening? I couldn't explain it even as I fell to my knees, the grass beneath my skirted knees slightly damp. "No," I moaned. "No! No! No!" I cried the word over and over again as if it would change anything.

"Hush now, child," a gentle voice urged me as hands touched my shoulders. My eyes were squeezed shut tight even as I shook my head breathing the word no over and over again. "Do not worry. You will see them again. Of this I can assure you." And with those words, I allowed two white arms to wrap me in a tight embrace as I sobbed myself into a fitful sleep.


	3. Annie The Wanderer

Losing my sisters had me shocked, dazed, and confused.

I hated that fact.

I wasn't the kind of person who liked to admit weakness and I was faced with having to do more than just that. It was more than just antagonizing, it was also scary as hell. And to make things worse, I was absolutely certain (for the first and last time in my life) that I was lost. I had several hints in that direction. For one thing, I was no longer surrounded by trees, but by rock tunnels. There came another problem with that. There were no tunnels like this near the trails and I had no explanation for how I had gotten there except for a blink.

One moment: sisters are fading into nothingness.

Blink.

Next moment: rocks, rocks, oh and more rocks.

And I hadn't even gotten to beat the hell out of the assholes who had stolen my sister's ring. My day had just gone from bad to shit storm.

So the whole basic conclusion had come down to a few facts I couldn't deny even though I really wanted to: I was very lost, I was very confused, and I was extremely annoyed by these things. The scowl that occupied it's usual place on my face as I walked through the tunnels deepened. I only had two choices in the matter and since I had promised myself when I was a child that I would never break down, I stuck to the second choice. I walked. It was the only thing I could do. Everyone always tells you that you're supposed to stay in one place. I couldn't. It would mean giving up and I would not do that. I had to keep pushing on. If I did that, maybe then I could find my sisters. Maybe then, I could figure out what was going on.

The tunnels that I passed through were varied in size, shape, and slope. I noticed this most when I came to an intersection and had to decide which path to take. There were four paths for me to choose from: The one on the far right was wide with stairs going down gradually. The one next to it was narrow and twisted upward sharply. Next to it came a short, but broad tunnel that led straight ahead. The one on the far left was wide like the one on the far right, but led upwards.

I looked at the four paths pointedly. Who the hell had thought it was a good idea to have so many tunnels with no directions? I really wanted to find them and strangle them. At least that would have made me feel better. Because of the lack of directions, there was a great possibility that I could be leading myself in a circle. Of course there was always the chance that even if I did know where I was going I would fall into a trap in this awkward place that had been set for someone else. I could get myself desperately lost. No that had to be scratched off the list. I was already desperately lost. The possibilities, beyond getting lost, were endless. No matter which way I went, there was the chance that I would never see the light of day again. There was the chance that I would never see my sisters again. I growled in frustration and kicked at a boulder that sat in the center of this crossroads.

The boulder sounded hollow as it shifted. I froze at the noise and movement, my eyes slowly drifting to stare very pointedly at what should have been a very solid rock. Boulders are not supposed to hollow. They should not be able to be moved by a kick from a sneaker-clad foot. They certainly should not be allowed to not hurt the owner of said foot. While I couldn't say that I was actually objected to the fact that it hadn't hurt, it still scared the hell out of me. I glared down at the boulder suspiciously and cataloged everything about it in my mind as we sisters had taught each other to do. It was large coming up to my hips making it probably around two and a half to three feet tall. It was wide as well. Looking at it, I would have said that it was almost chest shaped in appearance except, rougher and less well formed as if someone had started to create it and then had been forced to abandon the work. The stone was a paler grey than the other stones around it which, in the end, I couldn't really have said what that meant. In all, it looked ordinary if only a little out of place. But it wasn't. I knew it wasn't because it couldn't be.

_So what was it!_

I knelt down in front of the boulder and ran my fingers along the top. It was stone alright. There was no mistaking the rough feel. It couldn't be duplicated. I had seen enough attempts at replications during my time as a construction worker. This was real stone. I ran my fingers over every inch of it that I could reach memorizing all the bumps and curves and grooves. By the time I was done, I planned to be able to know this thing even if I was blinded or sleeping. I didn't get that far though. Instead, I heard something that made me pause. It was like the sound of a catch on a clasp coming undone or a lock springing. I opened my eyes to see that the top of the boulder had somehow…opened. I weighed my options yet again. Open. Don't open. No, it was more like: look inside, be a pansy and avoid it. When I put it to myself that way: what did I have to lose? The top came up just like a chest or trunk lid to reveal aged and moth bitten cloth. I pushed the cloth away to find something that took even my breath away as I tried to moan in something like ecstasy.

They were glorious in truth. On the top there was a blade that shone silver in the light. It was long and beautiful. The cross bar was decorated with an elaborate script and the hilt was twisted gold and silver. The long black scabbard lay next to it, the script matching as it danced around the leather embossed in the same colors as the hilt. I picked up the sword first. It was light which felt odd. I ran my fingers along the blade and hissed, pulling back to see blood pooling along a cut that ran across my three middle fingers. Now that was something I could appreciate. I placed the blade carefully within the scabbard and strapped it around my waist. That wasn't were it belonged I knew, but for now, it would have do. First, there was one other thing I had to take out. Chain mail sat at the bottom seemingly waiting just for me. It was a white gold or white silver with fine almost embroidery type of etching along the color and waist.

This was mine. I knew it without a doubt. Just as the sword was mine so was this mail shirt. And if they weren't...well they were now. A wicked smile danced across my lips. I very rarely smile. My sisters are scared when I do. Too bad for anyone nearby that they weren't there to see me smile. They might have known to run for cover. Pulling off my shirt, I tore a strip of clothe away and lay it on top of the rest of what was getting left behind before slipping the mail shirt on over my head. It was a bit big, but it was cool and comfortable. I would be able to move in it light as it was. I could only hope that if I needed it...

Why I was afraid I would even need a sword and chain mail, I honestly couldn't say. I didn't want to sell them, but I could have sworn there was almost this little voice in my head telling me to put them on anyway. And so I relocated the sword so that the scabbard hung from my shoulder and grabbed the strip of clothe from my shirt, pressing it to my fingers as I surveyed the tunnels again. My eyes caught on the one to the far right and I nodded.

Time to go down.


	4. Thea the Dreamer

The first time that I woke up, all I knew was that my shoulder was burning and I didn't know why. It consumed my senses. My mind couldn't function properly for the feel of it. Moans finally reached my ear. Part of my mind wondered who was in pain. Then some other more rational part of it realized it was me. I was moaning. I would have considered being embarrassed if it weren't for the pain that radiated throughout my body raking me with waves of nausea as I tried to move. A weight pressed down on my good shoulder and I struggled against it despite the sickness that clenched my stomach. Something cool touched my forehead and a low, masculine voice whispered in my ear. I couldn't understand what was being said, but it calmed me. I whimpered as I subsided and lay back on the bedding. Yes that was bedding beneath me. Not soft like my own at home, but enough for me.

Instead of dreaming, I slipped into memories. I was seven years old again. My mother and father were being stolen away from me by the big black cars that drove in front of us. Jamie's head was in my lap as she cried while Annie had been biting her lip hard the whole time. We all knew what it meant, but none of us wanted to admit that mom and dad were never coming home. The car we were in turned as the black cars continued forward. I remembered screaming at the top of my lungs even as the man driving promised that everything was going to be just fine. We were going to a new home. We were going to love it there.

Why hadn't he told us he was lying?

I was twelve before I realized exactly why Annie hated our new "father" and why Jamie flinched every time he touched her. I was twelve the day that Annie almost killed him for sticking his tongue down Jamie's throat. A part of me hadn't wanted to stop her. Only our "mother's" threat that Annie would be taken way and never given back stopped me. After all, parents knew best even if they weren't real parents, didn't they? After that, he never went near Jamie or Annie or I again. If he had, I probably would have killed myself, no matter what Annie always thought of me.

The next time I came to, the pain was still in my shoulder, but it wasn't the all-consuming fire I had known before. That was a little comfort, but still only a little. My eyes opened for the first time since I had lost awareness. The ceiling of the room was wood. It looked like something out of a Norse or Medieval movie. My eyes roved the room. I could remember vaguely feeling nauseous when I had moved. I didn't want to risk that again. What I could see of the room was bare and Spartan in appearance. I tried to force out a sound or something. All that came out was a half strangled attempt at a noise.

Someone rushed over to my side and I caught a glimpse of long golden blonde hair and masculine features. Something was taken from my forehead and a gentle hand took it's place. "It seems your fever has broken. We were wondering if you were going to pull through." The hand was pulled away. It moved to the back of my neck and helped me keep my head up. "You need to drink." The man's voice ordered as something wooden touched my lip. The only way I could help was to open my mouth a little. Water poured in and I swallowed it the best I could. The man was patient with me and gave me water in only small amounts for which I was very grateful. "Rest now. You're safe here."

As I lost consciousness again, the only thought that floated through my mind was that this was the oddest hospital I had ever heard of.

I dreamed something that was half memory this time. Annie, Jamie, and I were walking down the trails. The last moments that I could remember before...I wasn't sure what happened after that really. I remembered the mist and the rain. I remembered saying that we should go back. And then...nothing. Silence. My sisters had vanished as the rain poured around me harder and harder making the ground a thick concoction of mud.

I had taken deep breaths trying desperately not to panic, even as I looked around wondering where I was. I had closed my eyes again, concentrating and listening. Maybe if I could find where Annie and Jamie were things would be okay. Maybe this was just a silly prank gone wrong. Instead, I had heard horses and shouting in the distance. Something had drawn me towards it even as I heard what seemed like death cries and clashes of metal. It wasn't real was it? This was dream, not memory. People didn't have sword fights anymore, not like what I was hearing. Even as that thought shot through my subconscious mind, I ran with all my might, finally breaking into the open. A small river and a small group of men. Only one was mounted and the others were on foot fighting ugly creatures the likes of which I had only ever seen in movies. "Hey!" I yelled. I wasn't sure what it was supposed to do for me or anyone, but it was the only thing I could think to do.

Creatures and men turned to look at me, one party recovering first and killing the other to claim victory. A single creature roared in rage. Most of its companions turned back towards the men trying to regain their upper hand. The furious leader didn't. He came towards me instead, brandishing a crude wicked looking sword. I could feel my heart stutter to a stop. I tried to convince my body to move, but I couldn't. I was going to die here. Could you die in your dreams? And if you did, would you stay dead? I didn't know, but I was had no doubt that I would find out soon. A part of me was absolutely scared by that fact. I didn't want to die in a dream or reality. I had to know my sisters were okay first.

Movement propelled me to the side even as the blade came down. Pain ripped through me as the blade glanced off my shoulder. A scream clawed its way up my throat and ripped itself from my lungs as I fell into the water. The creature fell across my legs and lay there. Darkness descended upon me as I breathed in water.

Suddenly I was pushing myself up and staring at a lake surrounded by mountains and trees. Annie and Jamie stood behind me talking eagerly, but I wasn't watching them. From the far side of the lake, two figures had emerged from the trees and were coming towards us. I knew them. I knew them both. I just didn't know who they were. They were two of three. I knew that. But what three? What two? And then the answer dawned on me as I called their names, running forward.

I shot up from the bed, pain shooting through my shoulder. My heart was racing as I stared wide-eyed at nothing. Dreams. They were only dreams.

Weren't they?


	5. Jamie the Fearful

There were stars peeking through gold and silver and green leaves when I woke up. I wanted to say it was the trails. Even though the ground beneath me was soft and I was covered with a soft, thin blanket. There was no reason that my sisters couldn't have decided that we could just...well...camp out there. A part of me said that it was wishful thinking, but that was what I lived on. Wishful thinking was all that I had. Wishful thinking was what got me through everything in life.

Pushing myself up, the world around me dissolved into dark trees. Some of the tree trunks gleamed silver as if they were lit. That couldn't be though. Shaking my head, I squeezed my eyes shut as if that would change what I was seeing. Opening my eyes I let out a little squeak and fell backwards at the sight of a blonde haired man standing near me. "Wh-what-" a hard look had me silenced and curling up on myself as I watched the man feeling fear rock my being. I wanted my sisters. Annie and Thea would make things right. They would protect me.

"That will be enough for now Haldir." I knew the voice from the night before as it spoke in the distance. My mind wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad thing. And so I remained in a state that was withdrawn and almost catatonic. I wanted my sisters. They would make things better. They were the only ones who could make things better. Why did no one seem to understand that? Couldn't they see that she needed her sisters? Why wasn't anyone trying to find them? She had to...she had to find them. If no one else would than didn't that mean that it was her duty?

Hands touched my shoulders and I felt a scream clawing it's way from my gut. It made me feel sick even as the hands remained only on my shoulder not moving down or up or away. "Jamie...he needs you. More than you need your sisters. You are his only hope." The scream caught in my throat fighting, biting, clawing in a desperate attempt to break free. I could feel myself starting to sway and rock. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real. My sisters would find me. They would pull me from the world that my mind was creating for me.

"He needs you, Jamie," the woman's voice whispered. "He is hurt, in pain already. You have little time to touch his heart." The words tried to take hold in me, planting little seeds of memory around my heard and the orchard of my mind. Even as I tried to pull away, deeper and deeper into my thoughts and voids of memories, the woman's voice seemed to follow me. "You will have to be strong for him and for yourself. But do not be afraid. You are no longer alone. Of that, I give you my word."

The words surrounded me. Dancing in and through me even as my mind tried to hide away waiting to be rescued from something so new, unfamiliar, and potentially dangerous. I didn't know it then but I was silently chanting my sisters names over and over again as if the mantra might draw them to me or to protect me from anything that might hurt me in their absence. I never remembered doing it, but in the end it didn't matter.

In the end, my only escape was to sleep a little while longer.


	6. Annie the Follower

I had been walking for hours.

Literally.

I would have liked to say that I was exaggerating, but this was one of those cases where I wasn't even close to that. I had a feeling that I was at least getting close to an exit as I wandered through the darkness. The area around me was vast. I knew that much. My steps were cautious until I came up against a wall. I couldn't help but sigh with relief as I moved along it the chains of my mail shirt making gentle sounds as they brushed against each other and the rocks.

Light began to bother the bottom of my eyes and I looked down to see that the shirt had started to glow a pale blue. A part of me really wanted to ask: _What The Hell._ Another part of me, slightly nerdish by nature, was actually rather excited about this whole thing. Of course there was one very large fact that the nerd and the other part of me had to agree on: _Mail shirts don't glow in the dark_.

I had nothing to disprove my theory as I finally came to an opening in the wall and simply stood staring down at the shirt. Footsteps began to ring through the empty hall and I looked back to see torches waving wildly. All I could think was that those had better be my sisters with an explanation. I wasn't sure if I would be able to handle anymore of the insanity being thrown my way.

I was not granted the blessed reprieve that I so desired. Instead, I was faced with something else entirely. I stood with my back to the opening, the faint glow of the mail brightening as I watched the skittish torches bob through the darkness growing from pinpricks of light to distinct flames. I was tempted to draw the blade from my back. "Run!" a man yelled at me. I raised an eyebrow questionably.

I had never really taken orders well. Thea knew this. It was why she either had Jamie tell me to do something or suggested it. Whoever it was who had yelled at me, didn't seem to realize that fact. That was why I crossed my arms over my chest preparing to stare the emerging group down. There were several of them. Standing there I actually had the time to count. Five adults (though one was midget height poor guy with his full beard and full out dungeons and dragons regalia) and four children. There was something very not right with this situation. They were dressed for battle of a medieval and fantasy style. Had I stumbled upon a bunch of serious LARPers?

As the men ran past me, two of them grabbed my arms and pulled me along with them. They were stronger than me. I had no choice but to try and run backwards. "What the hell!" I shouted. I felt myself being spun around even as my arms were again grabbed and I was dragged along with the group. Either they took their gaming very seriously or something was going on. And by the smell of them, I was really hoping that it was first option.

A bridge loomed out of the darkness drawing a dark curse from my lips as I was pushed between the midget and whoever had grabbed my arm and propelled across the bridge. I kept going only because I knew that if I didn't, I was going to fall.

The sound of a cracking whip filled the air and the smell of smoke and fire whipped towards me. I turned even as I left the bridge and felt my stomach leave my body for a few moments. I was fairly certain that I said something very unladylike in those moments, but I honestly don't remember what it was. The sight of that hell beast had stolen all of my wits.

"Go!" A grey haired, grey robed man ordered them as he stopped in the center of the ridge.

"Gandalf!" I had mistaken them for little children before, but now I knew that they had to be men…tiny men, like the bearded one running with them. We all stood poised at the edge of the bridge watching the old man as the fire grew out of the darkness and took a shape with whip in hand. My stomach took that inopportune time to return and I honestly felt sick to my stomach.

The grey haired man faced the thing of fire and darkness. I didn't envy him that task. That thing was not something I would want to face. It shouldn't have been real but I could feel the heat coming off of it in waves. "Go!"

The second command had us all snapping to attention and for the first time in my life, I obeyed an order.


	7. Thea the Lonely

I woke up feeling sick to my stomach. I rolled over and heaved on the floor, unable to resist the urge as liquid and bile spilled from my lips. Rolling onto my back I groaned and tried to ignore the smell now permeating the room and focusing on the ache that I had caused to radiate through my shoulder. No one was there, this time, to replace the clothe that had slipped from my forehead. Looking around the room, I was beginning to doubt my first theory.

There was no way this was a hospital.

The sound of men running quickly on the other side of the door jerked me from that realization. I swallowed heavily and tried to push myself up with my good arm. The work was slow and hard causing sweat to break out along my forehead. Something wasn't right here. I needed to know what it was. I had to know where I was. More importantly, were my sisters nearby? Jamie would be terrified even if Annie was with her. She would need me. I had to get to her.

There was a yell outside of _Open the Gates!_ A part of me wanted to know what was happening. Another part didn't care. I could use this time while they were focused on whatever was going on outside to get out and start to search for my sisters. I might have been weak, but that wouldn't stop me if they needed me which I was afraid they did.

My legs felt weak as I shoved the thick furry blanket from them and looked down at them. They didn't look weak. I hadn't been asleep that long had I? The thought sent a tingle down my spine. I could only hope that I hadn't. Jamie needed me. I reminded myself of that as I forced my legs over the side of the bed and pushed myself up. I had forgotten one very important factor. As my feet hit the ground, my hand using the chair back next to the bed to push me forward, I stepped into the slick puddle of stomach remains I had delivered to the floor and found myself falling.

Clenching my eyes and body I fell hard on my good shoulder, letting out a whimper behind a bitten lip as I lay there, not wanting to move. I looked up and watched the door longingly. I could try and get up, but I was afraid now. What would happen if I tried to stand again? Did I have the strength? "I'm sorry Jamie," I whispered hoping that maybe she could feel at least a touch of the regret that I was sending to her with my heart. My eyes stayed on the door instead and I waited, wondering if anyone would remember I existed.

I listened as men passed the room. Some were running, some walking at a leisurely pace. Men shouted and spoke in whispers. Never once did I hear a woman's voice. I wasn't sure whether to be more afraid because of that or just accept it as a fact. Could this place have anything to do with the dream that I had had, watching my sisters disappear. I shook my head. That couldn't have been reality. Monsters didn't exist.

 _Neither do wooden hospitals with men who sit at your side to care for you,_ my mind reminded me.

The door opened. "You should not have left her alone cousin," a woman snapped. My eyes flew open and I looked up to see three figures standing in the doorway. The woman had long blonde hair and wore a brown dress with a silver belt and split skirts. A look of shock had stolen over her face along with the two men who stood behind her, tall, broad, and blonde. She recovered first, however and moved over to me quickly. An arm reached around my shoulder and pulled me up so that my head and shoulders were lying in her lap. She reached out and placed a firm, but gentle hand on my forehead. "It seems as if the fever you told us about has broken completely. Any thanks to you?" The words were snide and almost bitter as they were directed at one of the two men, both of whom were recovering.

"Hold your tongue sister," the bearded of the two admonished the woman gently, his cheeks flushing slightly as he looked away from me. I looked down and saw the the skirt I was wearing had hiked up to my knees. What was wrong with that? "Theodred may be our cousin but he is still the king's heir. You will show him the proper respect."

The second man spoke up next waving his hand dismissively. His eyes were averted as well. "Éowyn is the healer amongst us, Éomer. You know it as well as I. I take no offense to her questions. She has a right to them. Besides, I should not have left," I knew his voice. I recognized them from the few times I had awoken in pain unable to open my eyes and see. Now I knew his name and could see his face clearly. Theodred...

"Please forgive me for my fault, lady. I hope that you were not hurt falling from abed."

I opened my mouth to speak, but found no words would come out. No sound even. Instead, I managed to shake my head, the thought not occurring to me that he wouldn't hear me until a few moments later.

"She slipped," the woman, Éowyn, explained looking at the mess of puke that covered my legs and the floor. "She'll need a new room and a bath. Water as well. She's parched." Her orders were terse and the bearded male gave her a hard look before sighing and nodding.

"Alright, alright," he relented. Moving into the room and around the other side of the bed, I lost sight of him. "Éowyn," he said coming back around the bed and holding a jug out to her. She took it without question and waited a moment for the wooden bowl that went with it to be given to her as well. Pouring a little water into it, she worked slowly to tip the bowl against my lips so that the water could slip between my lips and slide down my throat taking with it the taste of bile.

"Can you speak now?" Éowyn asked pulling the bowl away and holding it out for one of the two males to take.

"Yes," I croaked the word out, but it was understandable. I took that as a small victory even as I looked between the three people. "Where am I?" I forced out even as the woman's look turned to a dark scowl. "Who are you? Where are my sisters?"

The three blondes exchanged a look before Theodred finally spoke up. "You were found alone, my lady. If your sisters were near, they hid or fled. I am most sorry." I didn't believe it. I refused to believe it. Annie and Jamie wouldn't leave me. They would never leave me. It didn't stop the tears from biting at my eyes though. And it didn't stop those same tears from rolling down my cheeks in pain and misery.


	8. Annie the Angered

My mind was working a million miles a minute as I walked along without saying a word. Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong. A man had faced a creature made of darkness and fire and gone down into an abyss of darkness. I had seen it, but I didn't want to believe it was real. But if it wasn't real, what was it? My imagination wasn't that good. It left me with an option that I didn't want to face at all. I just had to find something else that could make sense.

Looking around me, all but one of them seemed so weary. It was as if they were longing to just lie down and sleep for days. I wouldn't object. It would give me an excuse to keep going on my own. I didn't trust them. The only problem would be the pretty boy. I had a feeling he wouldn't be willing to just let me run off while the others slept. I shot him a withering look that was met by confusion as his eyes swept my way. I didn't allow myself to grin in reply until I had looked away and felt his eyes move on to something else.

Light began to emerge before us and I joined in a collective sigh of relief. I had been in the dark for long enough. I lifted my head to the sky as the rocky roof gave way to a clear blue sky. It was bright, but I forced my eyes to remain open even as they watered against the bright light of the sky. I took a deep breath and lowered my head so I could look around me feeling a hint of guilt at the grief so evident around me. They were upset. I was happy. Maybe now was time to sneak away.

Unfortunately, I had been right.

It was the blonde bastard who stopped me.

Even as I had started to move away, he grabbed my arm. I spun and gave him a dark glare. "This place is dangerous," he murmured. "You should not be alone." Was that supposed to mean something to me?

The scowl replaced any hint of a smile that might have remained on my face and erased all the embarrassment I felt. "You know what. You guys have your fun or whatever it is here and I have my responsibilities elsewhere. Now let me go or I can kick your ass."

His confusion was clear and that just annoyed me that much more. I brought my foot up and slammed it down on what should have been his instep. I instead found his knee behind mine a moment before I was falling and landed hard on my back. The wind flew from my lungs and my ears started ringing. I could hear voices around me as the others spoke. Only one voice clearly made it through the haze.

"Leave them a moment!" It ordered. "Give them a rest!"

God who cared? Couldn't he lower his voice? It reverberated around my mind. If I wasn't busy groaning, I would have been growling. I just wanted it to stop. I finally managed to push myself up and glare at the whole spectrum of them. "Really?" I snapped. "Really? Will you all just shut up! Unless you would like to sleep outside of hell's door, I would advise, you get your asses up right now and leave."

I rubbed my head grateful for the silence before I looked up and saw more confusion. "What? You guys seem so convinced that this is all a game why are you sticking around and mourning another character."

Fury quickly replaced the face of one of the dark haired man. He pushed through two of the people in front of him until he was standing over me. "Don't you da-" I was cut off as he did exactly what I told him not to, pulling me up by my wrists and shaking me.

"Think you this is a game!" he snapped in fury. "A man just gave his life and you dare to jest!"

I shoved him away, my scowl darkening. "Who cares what I do think?" I snapped in return. "Touch me again and I swear to God it will be the last thing that you do." I stepped away and turned my eyes towards the other men in the party who stood staring silently at me and their companion. "Well?" I snapped. "Are you guys coming or not?"


	9. Thea the Listener

They had moved me to another room, one that wasn't so barren. Instead, the walls were covered in tapestries. I had almost fainted the first time I had gotten a good view outside of the window. I might not have traveled much, but I knew that what I saw outside was not anywhere near my home. In fact, it seemed more liked a place out of a story, a beautiful, but unreal story. And yet I had stared at it for hours. I had blinked. I had pinched myself. I had slept. It was always the same landscape even at night.

Three days had passed since I had been moved and my mind was slowly coming to grips with the fact that I might actually be...well...I couldn't say it out loud yet. The other realization was harder to think of. My sisters were gone. I didn't know where. I didn't know if they were okay. I didn't know if they were together. All I knew was that they weren't with me. That fact was killing me. I wanted them near. I needed them. We were a part of each other. We always had been and now I couldn't be there to protect and guide them as I always had.

A knock came at the door as I sat in the chair that had been placed near the window. I called without bothering to look back. Only one person ever came to visit me anyway so I had a fair idea of who it was in the first place. "Good afternoon Lady Thea. I hope that you are feeling well?"

I considered continuing to stare out the window for a moment hoping that I might see something, but I gave up in the end turning and managing a smile to Theodred. "Good afternoon...I'm supposed to call you my lord, aren't I?"

His cheeks turned a pale shade of red and I couldn't help but chuckle. The coloring deepened some at my response. "Uh, well, I am my father's son," he granted with a shrug. Yes, his father. I had yet to meet the infamous king, but from what I had heard, he had been sick for some time. Both Theodred and his cousins whom I had met a few days before were worried about him but could seem to do nothing.

"How do you fare today?" He asked moving forward. I watched him as he moved across the room and around the bed until he was sat down on the bed. I couldn't help but smile as I leaned back in the chair, the thick blanket draped across my legs. "Shouldn't you be abed still? I thought my sweet cousin ordered bed rest." I shrugged and bit my lip as I winced a little. The wound was healing nicely from what I could tell but it still loved to hurt when I moved it. It was a stated fact that I was bound to have a scar and a permanent deformity for the rest of my life. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I was too glad to be alive to really complain.

I had asked Theodred how I had come across the wound as he had carried me to my new room the first day I had really been awake. He had been almost thrilled to tell me the adventure of how he and his men had fought Orc-like creatures (Orcs? Weren't those from fantasy worlds? they didn't exist I had kept telling myself) when I had appeared out of nowhere and called away the monsters' attention and gained their fury as well. That had been how I had gained the terrible wound on my shoulder. I had spent most of that night trying to decide if he was telling the truth.

Because of my dream, I was afraid he could well have been.

"Better than yesterday," I assured him with a little sigh. I saw the look of concern on his face and quickly forced a smile. I didn't know why he always came to see me, to ask about me, but I couldn't deny that I honestly enjoyed the company even as strange as it was. I wanted to add desperately that I was getting anxious. I had been since I had first woken up. I didn't say it, but I wanted to. I wondered if Theodred could tell. If he could, he hadn't done anything about it just yet. Maybe he would today. It was wishful thinking of course, but sometimes that's all you have. I had to leave and start looking for my sisters. I couldn't be alone anymore and I didn't want to stop until I found them.

"I never properly thanked you for saving our lives. If you had not arrived when you had, there is no doubt in my mind that me and my men would have died. I will never be able to repay you for what you did." Theodred said earnestly. Sometime during his little speech, he had reached across the space between us and taken my hand. Could it have been his way of trying to tell me just how sincere he was? That was what people back "home" would do. Our worlds couldn't be that different could they? I refused to believe that. The little that I had seen told me that there had to be similarities. Our worlds? His world? God I really was starting to believe it. As frightening as it was, it was the only real choice facing me.

I had to accept it or...well...what were my other options?

I was a little speechless and definitely embarrassed as the words sank into my mind. Could a person blame me though? After all, I had just been charged with saving a band of trained warriors (after all that was what they were in my dream). "I didn't do that much." I said trying to convince him. From the look on his face, he didn't believe it for a minute. "Besides, I'm sure that you all would have been fine on your own. I probably just made it all a lot easier." They were warriors. If I was right in believing this, this was their world. That should have meant something, right?

Theodred shook his head. "I assure you not. The men had given themselves up for dead. And in truth…so had I." My face fell as I watched the weariness fall over him. He was so weak in this moment. None of his men or family. Just me. For some reason, he had just chosen me...

"Those things…we could not have defeated them without you. You have become a symbol of hope to all of us. When we saw you and what you had done…what had happened to you…we had a reason to fight again. Each day after I leave you, the men demand a report of your health. You have more worth than you can imagine Lady Thea. Believe me, at this moment, you are the most valuable treasure that Rohan could ever wish to possess."

I really was speechless this time and it had all to do with what he had said. I didn't know what to say or how to respond and I knew for certain that a blush had taken control of my face. Without even meaning to, Theodred had gotten even. No one had ever said that they needed me that much. Annie and Jamie always did, but this wasn't the same. After all, I needed my sisters as much as they needed me. These men shouldn't have needed me at all, but from what Theodred was saying, they did.

"Would you dine with us tonight Lady Thea?" he continued coming forward so that he was on his knee before me looking into my eyes earnestly. "I know that my cousin wishes you to stay in bed and rest, but it might do everyone, especially you, some good to be out in the clean air and amongst other people."

Theodred couldn't have realized how happy he had just made me with that offer. He was probably thinking of his men and the supposed effect that seeing me up and about would have on them, but I was thinking of the fact that I would have the chance to actually get out and do something other than lie down. Part of me wanted to search for ways out. I still had to find my sisters after all, but another part...another part wanted to be free. For just a night, I wanted to not have a care in the world.

"I would be honored."


	10. Annie the Leader

None of them were talking to me.

They also weren't letting me out of their sight.

I wasn't sure which fact pissed me off more.

We had been walking for hours since my suggestion without a rest. I might be in shape, but even I wasn't used to walking this much. I wasn't going to complain though. I had this feeling that if I did, they would probably find something wrong with it. Likely it would have to do with them being exhausted and having lost a friend. My mind was still having trouble with that one as I pointedly avoided thinking about the thing that had caused said loss.

Certain things just couldn't exist.

I had to stick with that theory. If I didn't, I was afraid there was a chance that I might go crazy. That was something that I didn't want to risk. Of course at the rate that my mind and paranoia were accelerating, there was a very good chance that I was going to go crazy no matter what I did.

We were being followed.

Of this, I was absolutely certain. I couldn't see them and that was probably for the better. It was on two fronts. One was from the rock tunnels and caverns we had come from. The other was from the forest we were going to. I looked back, not for the first time, and saw that two of the beardless midget men had fallen behind. At least one of them was injured and both were wearing down faster than the rest of us. I turned back without a thought and pushed between the two men behind me ignoring the objections being sent my way as I went to the shorties. The dark haired of the two was being held up by the other and could barely draw a breath. I picked him up without a thought and put him on my back with my sword. He was decently heavy, but I grunted. I had carried Jamie around before and he was about the same weight.

I could handle it.

"Oi! Pretty boy!" I called to the blond who I had marked as my personal enemy. I was going to get him back for kicking my ass and keeping me around these guys.

I took perverse satisfaction in the fact that he took offense to his brand new nickname. But, as I jerked my head towards the little blonde man at my side, he knew that for now it was best to keep his mouth shut. "We need to make it to the forest," one of the others insisted..

I scowled. "Are we supposed to be safe there?"

"One of the most safe places," The man assured me. I sighed. There wasn't much of a choice now was there. My eyes flicked to the forest and I shook my head. I needed to find my sisters. I didn't have time to deal with these people. They weren't giving me much of a choice though and since they clearly couldn't take care of themselves, that seemed to be my new job.


	11. Jamie the Silent

Someone was calling my name. Over and over it echoed through my mind. Each call seemed to move through every shadow trying to dispel them and capture my hidden consciousness. First one name and then another passed through the airiness of my being. I did not want to be found and yet I could feel the calls coming closer. I couldn't leave though. The calls sounded like sirens consuming every bit of space with their echos. I wanted it to stop. I couldn't leave. The world was a place of darkness. The people were evil. They couldn't be trusted. Their thoughts were focused on hurting and pain. I didn't want to be near them. I didn't want to have to face that darkness ever again. It was why I had withdrawn. My sisters were the only people in the world who could protect her from the darkness. This presence, these calls were not Thea or Annie. They never would be. They could never truly hold that claim. And yet it remained slowly moving until it knew me completely.

Then I simply gave up.

The calls wrapped around me, cocooning me. I tensed, knowing that I would be pulled, abused, and tormented. It was what the world did after all. They hurt. They destroyed. I had learned that and it was a lesson that I held near and dear to my heart. It was why I didn't trust. I knew better than to trust. Trust only hurt in the end. This time would be no different my mind warned me. And yet, I felt warm and safe. It might as well have been Thea holding me. I felt the calls, like silk ribbons woven into a basket, drawing me up from the well of dreams that my mind had created for me. On the precipice between those wonderful, safe dreams and a reality she might have to face alone, I was allowed to pause. I looked back over my shoulder for a moment, longing and wishing that I could stay there.

And then I was gasping for air.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I couldn't understand the language. As I sat near Galadriel, my eyes downcast, I still didn't know what they were saying. When I had woken up, Galadriel had held my head in her lap, smiling graciously down at me. It had been all I could do not to cry and beg to be allowed to sleep again. And then she had given me a promise.

Annie was coming.

That had been all she had had to say to me. After learning that Annie was so near, I had allowed myself to be led from the glade where I had slept for close to three days and found myself stunned by the world around me. It seemed too beautiful to be real. I had never heard of any place like it before in my life and all I could do, as I was cleaned and dressed, was stare in wonder.

"They're coming," Galadriel murmured, a smile touching her lips. She turned that benevolent smile down on me and I almost squirmed. That smile called for trust and love and I was afraid to give that. I honestly didn't know if I had the ability to give what that smile asked. "They are both coming Jamie," she said. I felt my heart start to race with anticipation. "The male is hurting. Tread carefully with him."

Male?

I could feel my heart drop. I tried to speak up, but Galadriel stood and moved to the side of a tall blonde male. A small motion of her hand told me to follow. I was dazed and confused. Why was I only going to see one of my sisters? Thea was alright wasn't she? I was afraid to leave. What if the reason only Annie was coming was because Thea was dead?

Galadriel and Celeborn glowed with their own inner light. A part of my distracted mind saw that and followed them. They truly were beautiful, so majestic and other worldly as they descended the stairs before me that if I had been in my right mind, it would have been stunning! I wondered if this was what the sun and moon looked like if they came down in human form. At the foot of the stairs, there were a rather large group. My eyes flitted across the men looking desperately for Annie. Five of them I dismissed immediately. All of them were far too short.

The other four members were all of normal height. One was an elf like Celeborn, Galadriel, and their people. He stood tall and regal, making me wonder: were all elves nobility or just the ones I chanced to meet? Next to him was a tall lanky man with dark hair and a strong presence. Anyone looking would name that man the leader without a thought. Next came another dark haired man stood next him. The man looked feminine and very familiar, but it was the one at the end who caught my eye and held it. He looked haunted and hunted. His hair was shoulder-length and brown. He was a warrior, a proud man, yet somehow so different and distant. Him. This had to be the man. No other would draw me like this. My breath caught in my throat. I wanted to go to him, but I couldn't move. He had to notice me first. He had to know I existed first. Then I could also go, I could ask about Annie.

Words swirled around me unheard, unheeded. They didn't matter. Only this man who had caught my attention. "Jamie!" The man next to my warrior cried out. All eyes became riveted on me and my warrior looked at me for the first time for a moment before forcing myself to look at the feminine warrior. Except it was not man.

"Annie!" I breathed before running to my sister and throwing myself into her arms. "I was alone. I can't find Thea."

Annie's eyes were determined as she smiled darkly. "We'll find her," she promised. "Won't we pretty boy?" Annie asked smiling at the blond elf who glared at her.

"You both know each other?" My warrior asked softly.

"Boromir, this is my little sister Jamie. Jamie, that's Boromir. Pretty boy is Legolas. The fearless leader is Strider. The dwarf is Gimli and the midgets are Pippin, Merry, Frodo, and Sam."

I caught the names of the others, but I didn't bother to put those names to their proper faces yet. I was too caught up staring at my warrior, Boromir. There was something in his eyes, a spark of recognition that made me smile. "I am glad to meet you…all of you." I added as an after thought. I probably would be glad to meet them when I did, but first…first I had to speak with the warrior.

My warrior...


	12. Thea the Symbol

I knew that I couldn't possibly look the same as I had when I had been brought to…wherever I was. My hair had been washed and brushed so that it was almost silky. Why Theodred had lowered himself to help me with that task, I still couldn't understand. After all, it was an intimate thing and even I could feel the tension between us. I couldn't deny that I had enjoyed it though. There had been a kind of pleasure to it that, if I was honest with myself, I wouldn't have minded experiencing again.

I had dressed on my own though. The gown was long and brown. It was actually a darker shade than my own hair and made of a fine material that I had never felt before. The belt around my waist was silver, a gift from Theodred's cousin, Éomer. One that had been meant for a later date. I doubted that the man would mind though. It was more likely his sister would be be upset if she knew about this.

I called out to Theodred as I sat on my bed and smoothed out my skirt. I had seen the healing wound on my shoulder. I was going to scar and I would probably always have trouble with my arm. I couldn't change that fact, but it didn't scare me. Actually I hadn't felt anything when I had seen the healing wound at all. Especially not after the speech that Theodred had given me. I was starting to think of the promise of the scar as a show of honor rather than a terrible deformity. The scar began at my shoulder blade and worked up along my shoulder and up onto my neck. It would be visible unless I wore a turtleneck with sleeves. Here, as far as I could tell, there weren't any turtlenecks.

I was actually very glad about that.

When Theodred came in the room, he stopped dead when he saw me. "M-my lady," he finally managed with a small bow. "You look lovely. I do believe that my men were mistaken when they named you our savior. You must truly be a spirit from beyond the sea."

My face flushed bright red. I was wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but I had an idea and it had me looking down at my bare feet. I couldn't tell him I wasn't that though. Part of me simply didn't want to, especially since I doubted that they believed me. "I wouldn't go that far, but I know how to accept a compliment." I granted unable to stop smiling. I don't remember having ever felt this...well...giddy before. And the biggest part was that I didn't mind feeling giddy at all.

"Come," Theodred said reaching out for my hand. "The men are waiting." I reached out, managing to hold back a grimace more than usually as I stood. It was frightening and exciting all at once. To get to meet the people that I had "saved". That I had become a symbol for.

I still had trouble believing that one.

It was the first time for me to see any of the structure beyond where I had been living and when I had been moved. The area was, in a word, beautiful. It was unlike anything that I had ever seen. The architecture was old-fashioned in my mind, but at the same time, it was different than all others that I had seen or imagined. I loved it. The easiness of my movements that I had forced became natural and easy as a quiet whisper of noise began growing louder and I relaxed and tensed at the same time.

A hush fell over the room as Theodred entered with me on his arm. "Rohirrim, Riders of the Eastmark, I present to you, our champion and spirit, Lady Thea." The noise that swelled all at once, washed over me like a wave. Usually it would have been terrifying, but instead…I found it exhilarating. Even without my sisters near me. Even as surrounded by strangers as I was...

I felt like I was home.


	13. Jamie the Confider

"How long have you been here?" Annie asked as she sat down at the edge of the forest floor camp.

"I don't know," I said with a shrug. "I was...umm...sleeping most of the time. I didn't recognize you at first." I added quickly wanting to change the subject. "You look like a true warrior Annie. If I didn't know any better, I would've said that you belong here."

"What about you Jamie? I thought you were one of those...people...back there until I actually started paying attention. I refuse to call them what they think they are. This has got to be a bad...game or something gone wrong." She paused for a moment worrying her bottom lip before pulling me down to sit next to her. "What is it with this place Jamie? I think I kind of like it here, and I shouldn't."

I giggled and touched my sister's shoulder lightly. "I know...it's weird isn't it. I feel at peace here when I know that I should be terrified without Thea. I don't think you can help but feel at peace here. Besides, I don't think we're supposed to stay here. Galadriel said that I'm supposed to help him. And I know he needs me Annie. The funny thing is…I think I need him too. When I saw him..."

"Boromir?" My sister said a scowl covering her face.

"Yes," I said with a voice that was a trembling whisper. "I can see it in him now too. He's in pain. There is something very big going on here Annie. I-I don't think that this is a game at all. I think that this is real. Really real and that what that woman, that elf Galadriel, told me is real too."

"Oh?" Annie asked coldly. "And what was that?"

"He'll be able to overcome a trial on his own…but if he is forced to do it alone…he'll die Annie. I don't want him to die. I can't let him die. What if I can help him? What if for the first time in my life, I can actually help someone instead of being the one who needs rescue. Please Annie..."

I looked imploringly into my sister's eyes and saw the terror in her eyes. "Ugh," Annie growled and glared at me. "You're going to be the death of me Jamie."

My sister's frightening demeanor didn't scare me though. I threw myself into my sister's arms and hugged her tight. "Thank you Annie. You have no idea how much I appreciate this."

"Yeah, yeah," Annie grumbled. "But don't expect me to do all the work kiddo."

"You only wish."

"Lady Jamie," Boromir stood a little ways away from the bedding that separated him from Annie and I. "May I speak with you privately?"

I didn't bother to look at Annie to see her reaction. I already could guess what it was and I didn't want to see it. Instead I stood up and walked over to join Boromir. "I wanted to speak with you too," I assured him with a smile. Boromir held out his arm and I took it. We walked in silence until we were at the other end of the area that had been given to the party as their campground. Boromir sat across from me and waited a moment after we sat. I could tell from the look on his face that he wasn't sure how to begin the conversation.

"Who are you Lady Jamie? Why was it that when I saw you…you drew my eyes even more than the elf queen who held the awe of my companions?"

"I don't know," I told him quite honestly. "But I know that when I saw you…I couldn't look away. Not until you looked at me at least once. I see the pain in your eyes and I know that I won't be able to live with myself if I don't help. I don't know you Boromir, but I know that you'll die soon after you overcome a terrible trial unless I help."

Understanding flashed in his eyes. There was pain there too and it made my heart ache that I had caused this. "I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I don't want that. I just want to help you." The clearing filled with silence for a moment as I moved towards him. "They don't know...do they?" I whispered.

I reached out and held him in my arms, refusing to let him go. I knew how safe it made me feel when Thea did this to me and I wanted him to feel the same thing. And I wasn't afraid. That was the greatest miracle of all. Even as I held this stranger, I didn't feel the innate fear that I felt near all men. It was right. I was glad that I had come here. I needed desperately to help this man. I had to do everything in my power to protect him from himself and from whatever it was that was looming before him to kill him.

Boromir pulled away and looked into my eyes. His eyes were so beautiful. They were profound and moving. I wanted to look into those eyes and forget the world. "They do not," he agreed in a soft, almost awed voice. "So then how is it that you do?"

I didn't know how to tell him. I bit my lip and frowned as I concentrated on the ground. "I am going to tell you a story of a young woman. The world she lived in was very cruel. The only people that she loved and could trust were her two sisters who cared for her very much. One day, she went walking in the woods with her sisters. Then the world came crashing down around them. They were traveling somewhere far away. They weren't staying together. Her sisters didn't notice at first. But she did. And she couldn't stop it. There was nothing she could do to warn them. She found herself in a beautiful place instead. And as much as she loved that beautiful place, it terrified her. Her own world had hurt her so much that trust is the thing she fears most. And so she felt sad and alone and afraid. A beautiful queen came to her. The queen told her that there was a warrior who needed her. She would have to endure great trials, but only she could allow the man to keep his life when he over came his own tests. The young woman didn't understand. But soon, a party came to see the queen and her king. The girl saw her warrior among them. She could see then what others hadn't. She saw his pain and struggle. She knew she couldn't turn away from this man."

"Why would this girl care about such a man?" Boromir asked softly.

Tears clouded my vision as I looked back up at Boromir. "Because she needs him as much as he needs her. She wants to believe in the world and you might be my only chance..."

This time, it was Boromir who drew me into his arms and held me tight. "You speak of something I find frighteningly real Lady Jamie. I do not understand these things. And I do not like that fact." His whispers were harsh in my ear.

I clung to him and looked deep inside for something to say. "I have never been of any real worth to anyone outside my family…but I know…I know that whatever this is…we can fight it or we can accept it. And that means that I can be of worth to you. That is...if we fight it. Then again...if we fight it...I fear that things will happen. Terrible things will happen. If we accept it, we have a chance."

"We must accept it," his whispers were ragged with fear and grief. "I have to return to my brother."

I couldn't explain the pain that cut through my heart at those words. I still meant nothing to anyone but Thea and Annie. I never would. And what made it worse was that...I wanted him. I needed him. I wanted to prove that I could be something to him. It is irrational to love someone you have only just met. I did though. I loved him. And even if I saved him…with those words I was afraid that I would lose him. "You will…no matter what else happens…you will return to your brother."


	14. Annie the Stubborn

"Are you ready?" Aragorn asked holding his sword in front of him.

I glared at the ranger and picked up my sword from where it lay on the ground. I had been training with Aragorn every day for the last week and it was taking its toll. He was a hard taskmaster, but I refused to back down. I faced him again and readied myself for the next assault. I lasted a little longer this time as I did each time. I still ended up with Aragorn's sword at my neck and my own on the ground.

"Good," Aragorn nodded approvingly as he sheathed his sword.

"Says the man who has yet to fall on his backside," I growled.

Aragorn held his hand out to me. I glared at it a moment before accepting it and gaining his aid in regaining my feet. "You are improving greatly Annie," Aragorn assured me as I brushed dirt off my legs. "But you push yourself harder than you must. Why?"

"Because I must," I growled. Silence stretched between us hard and awkward. I broke it first though. "I know that I could never beat you in a fair fight even if you keep training me. But could I beat Boromir?"

Aragorn looked at me curiously. "Why would you ask that? You do not need to fight him."

"Answer the question," I snapped.

Aragorn stared at me sternly and I scowled back at him. It was a question if either of us would yield. We were both strong personalities. We were both leaders. It produced many clashes of wills. It didn't help my pride that he was a better fighter. I almost wanted to return to the other world. At least there I didn't feel incompetent. But my pride could never be wounded enough to make me go back there. There would have to be another reason first.

"It would be an interesting battle." It wasn't Aragorn who answered this time. Instead I found my answer from one of the natives. I turned and gave the tall blonde (what was it with all these damn blondes!) a hard look even as I nodded. That was a good enough answer for me.

"Haldir, right?" I asked arching my eyebrow in question. He arched his own in reply clearly curious as to what I could possibly have to say to him. "You owe me a fight one of these days. Why don't you hunt me down when you're man enough to go through with it." The look of shock on his face was almost as good as seeing it on Pretty Boy's. I turned on my heel after giving Aragorn a mock salute and started to walk back towards the camp.

As soon as I was away from the men, I was thinking about Jamie and Boromir. It would be so much easier just to kill Boromir and have done with it. Or challenge him to a duel. I could manage that I had no doubt. The only problem was Jamie. Jamie would never forgive me if I did something to "her warrior". And I couldn't have that. My sister meant far too much to me. I was just going to have to find another way to deal with Boromir (which is a weird name in the first place. It would figure that Jamie would choose a guy with a name like that).

I was just going to make sure Boromir knew who and what he was dealing with. I was going to take pleasure in that even if I did lose. I knew it already. Of course I had this feeling I wouldn't lose. The man just didn't seem like the type who could bring himself to hit a woman for any reason. That worked to my advantage. With that thought, I was steering my thoughts towards where I might find Boromir. Of course, there was just one slight setback. That took place in the form of pretty boy. He stepped in front of me blocking my passage. I glared up at him with all my might knowing that I could muster up a pretty decent death glare. "Get out of my way," I growled.

"I would like to speak with you Annie…if you have the time." Pretty boy asked with his usual calm, cool look. God the man made me sick! Men are not supposed to look that pretty or be that unaffected by glares and taunts!

"I do not have the time," I said shoving at his chest. He was barely rocked by it and that annoyed me even more. Stupid elf. Stupid pretty boy elf. He was intentionally trying to distract me from my task. Being around him frequently infuriated me. One of these days I was going to have to do something about it. Apparently that day was today.

"But I believe you do have time. Aragorn is through with your lessons for the day, is he not?" Pretty boy pointed out. My eyes narrowed. He was in for it now.

He was so calm and unperturbed by me. The jerk. Why was he not withering under the glare? "Look, just because I'm done with lessons doesn't mean that I don't have something to do. And currently, you're standing in the way of my goal."

Legolas chuckled softly. "Sometimes, one must be distracted from their goal before they can truly find what they are looking for."

"I don't need your elven mumbo-jumbo okay! Get the hell out of my way!" I yelled. People all around froze and stared at me. It was embarrassing though I couldn't admit that. I refused to let myself to ever turn red or to admit defeat. I turned my back stiffly and walked away with pride. I could deal with Boromir later.

As I walked away, I could hear his laughter ringing after me.

Bastard.


	15. Thea the Threatened

I stood in front of the burnished copper that I was using for a mirror and simply stared at my slightly deformed shoulder. I wasn't disgusted. I wasn't afraid. I wasn't repulsed, sickened, or even nauseated by it. It was simply there. It was the first real physical marring that I had had in my whole life. All the scars I had ever borne before had been on the inside and finally, at last, I had one that could show the world that I had felt pain and loss and fear. And that fact didn't scare me. It actually made me want to smile. It made me want to let tears of joy light my face. No one could say that I had never suffered now. No one could say that I didn't feel.

I wanted that more than anything.

Someone shoved the door of my room (which was apparently called a chamber) open and I, in return, quickly shoved the sleeve of my gown up. I had started to learn that this culture also highly valued modesty. I wondered if that meant that maybe Jamie would have been safe if we had been lucky enough to born in this world as children. I shook my head, forcing the thought away. No one would hurt Jamie again, ever. Annie and I had promised that. Even as the thought of the promise sang through my mind, guilt welled up in my gut.

I wasn't there to protect Jamie now.

"Can I help you?" I asked tilting my chin up in the air and looking at the man who seemed to crawl into the room. He was around my height or maybe a little taller with stringy black hair and thick furs wrapped around his form. His head was tilted to the side as he watched me closing the door behind him. I felt my stomach twist with anxiety and I couldn't have said why.

His head cocked to the side and my empty hand clenched as if it wanted something in it to ward of the man coming near me. I couldn't have said why. All I knew was that there was something very wrong with this man on every level. "So you are the Lady Thea...the men's _spirit_ ," the words were a sneer. I wish I could have at least been insulted, but instead they made me feel dirty like a cheap whore who had dressed up in a queen's clothes.

"And you are?" I snapped trying to keep my composure. Why did he scare me? I had no rational reason for my fear, but I wanted Theodred near me. I wanted to be the person protected for once. I didn't think I could actually protect myself. It was a thought I never would have thought I would have to face. After all, I had always been able to comfort, to soothe,to protect when I knew what was going on. But only when I knew. A part of me wished I could be so naive again while another part needed that realization: I wasn't a child anymore.

"Grima Wormtongue, the king's most trusted adviser," he gave me a flourishing bow, but his demeanor still managed to mock me. To this man I was nothing. I would always be nothing. That fact shouldn't have bothered me, but it absolutely terrified me. Did the King believe I was nothing too?

I forced my chin up in the air and wrapped my arms around my middle pacing the room back towards my bed. "Do you always make it a practice to barge into a woman's chambers unwelcomed and unannounced than?" I asked trying to use my best Jane Eyre language. I tried to search my mind for any scene that the woman had written that might help me, but I was coming up short. Not even a dabble into Bronte really helped when my brain couldn't seem to process anything properly.

I turned to face him only to find that he had followed me across the room and pressed a blade under my chin. I let out a soft hiss of air and stared at Grima in shock. "Wh-what-"

"Silence wench,"he hissed grabbing my hair. "I could slit your throat right now. The prince would be sad for a time, but it wouldn't matter in the end. No one cares about you and no one will care about him. Remember that well bitch and remember that this day, you owe me your life. I shall come to collect the debt soon."

The knife disappeared from view and Grima stepped back, releasing my hair, I fell back on the bed and watched in frozen horror as he slipped from the room like some disgusting reptile. A few moments later the door opened and my eyes shot up, wide and afraid to latch onto Theodred. "Lady Thea? What's-" I cut him off as I threw myself into his arms needing to be held. I couldn't tell him about the threat that had just been delivered to me. He'd never believe me. Not if Grima really was his father's most trusted adviser and I had no reason to doubt the man.

"I need you Theodred," I whispered. "I need you."


	16. Jamie the Meek

I was watching Boromir as he watched the four little men that they went between calling hobbits and halflings. They looked like kids, they really did. And yet, they weren't. Actually, if I was going to be honest, three of the four were more mature than I was. Realizing that, I actually felt guilty. How could I have lived my whole life so sheltered? Did Annie and Thea see me as such a child? How could they even put up with me as clearly inept as I was?

"Lady Jamie?"

Turning, I looked up at the the man who I had seen the first day. Looking up at him now I decided that he was still intimidating. Nothing was likely to change that fact. "Y-yes..." I trailed off for a moment. "Haldir! Right? That is your name I mean, isn't it?" I felt ridiculous, but I couldn't help it. I wanted him to not scare me. I wanted to be brave like I had to. Maybe if I was brave then Boromir could care about me. I knew that it was wishful thinking but if wishful thinking was all I had, than I was going to cling to it with everything in my being.

"I am Haldir," I wasn't sure if he was trying to assure me or just stating the fact. I honestly could not read the man. It was as if he was wearing a constant mask over his whole being. You couldn't tell if he was happy, if he was sad, anything. A part of me wondered if he even felt at all. I couldn't ask him though. Instead I stood looking down at my feet wondering what he was going to say to me. "I have been charged with teaching you knife play."

My stomach did a plummet in that moment. I didn't do well with sharp things. It was why I couldn't watch Annie's sparring lessons. I had never been able to tolerate sharp things. I knew what they could do to people. It was probably an irrational fear on some level. After all, no one had ever hurt me with a knife or even accidentally stabbed me with a sharp pencil. The only thing that had ever stabbed me had made me simply afraid of most men.

"Knives?" I managed to get the word out without a stutter. I wasn't sure how. It simply dripped from my lips filled with fear and trepidation. My eyes flicked upward by body tensed and ready to flinch at whatever Haldir would answer. I had this odd churning sensation in my stomach as if I had said something very very wrong and I was just waiting for the moment that I would be called out for it.

Instead I watched as a single eyebrow arched upward. A part of me was glad that he didn't seem like the kind of person who would yell at me if he was angry, but that left a darker kind of anger that he could show and that was the kind of anger that scared me most of all. Yelling wasn't nearly as terrifying in the end. Yelling rarely ever led to too much pain. At least, that was what I had seen in my own experience. Was he mad at me? I honestly couldn't tell. "Has no one ever taught you how to fight?"

It wasn't a question that I had expected. As I stood watching him, my mouth gaping open more than just unattractively but probably disturbingly, my brain tried to remember what the question was and how I should answer that. "I take care of my sister," Annie said from behind me. I turned around to see her with her arms crossed over her chest and her chin raised high.

"And you think that is enough?" Haldir asked. I could feel my stomach twist in tiny knots. This wasn't going to end well. I knew Annie. I knew how Annie felt when it came to Thea and myself and her defense of the both of us. No one questioned her when it came to that. Didn't Haldir know that? Why didn't he? He should.

"It is enough," Annie insisted. She sounded so far away but I could feel her standing just behind me, her hand touching my shoulder. "Jamie's my sister and I'll be damned if I let anyone hurt her."

The sounds around me slowed to a dull, mangled roar. Instead I watched as Haldir spoke again and Annie moved forward, her back now to me. Oh God, they were going to fight. They were going to fight and it was all my fault. What was I going to do. I had to stop this. I wished that I knew how to stop this. I could feel my panic increase as blades were drawn, the ringing demands of the swords cutting through the rushing of my blood for a moment.

My eyelids squeezed themselves shut tightly not wanting to see this. This wasn't happening, this wasn't. My body felt stiff and yet I was certain that I was shaking as I hugged myself hoping maybe that that would make things better. Arms wrapped around me and my face was pressed into a hard chest, a hand resting in my hair. I didn't have to open my eyes to know it was Boromir. Even before I could even start to hear again, I knew it was him. He would save Annie from the violence that was so close to attacking her. And he would help her keep me safe.

If only I could be so brave.


	17. Annie the Reluctant

I hated elves.

Attacking a skilled warrior in anger probably wasn't the best idea that I had ever had. Ending up on my back again with a knife resting just over my throat was clear proof of that. "You may mean well, but you do your sister a disservice," Haldir whispered, his voice so low that only I could hear him.

"And look at her," I hissed back at him. "You don't know me and you sure as hell don't know my sister." My eyes bored into his own before he finally yielded and looked up at my sister, shock actually showing up on his face. I took the chance and shoved him away, scrambling up to my feet. "Who's the fool now, Haldir?"

Straightening, Haldir crossed his arms over his chest and started to say something before pretty boy cut in. "Haldir meant not disrespect to you Lady Anne," he interjected stepping between me and the other elf. He turned to Haldir for a moment, speaking in their, I would never admit that it was actually beautiful, strange Elven language. The two elves surveyed each other for a moment before Haldir nodded and moved away.

Before I could put him in his place, pretty boy had grabbed my arm and started pulling me from everyone else. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded shocked.

"Must you be so crass?" he demanded with a wince.

I sneered at him. "Must you be such a pretty prude?" I demanded in reply.

He stopped and turned to face me looking down at me. "Why do you hate me?" he asked tilting his head to the side. I watched feeling a touch of envy as his long blonde hair slid over his shoulder. I had never been able to grow hair like that and so I always ended up chopping it off before it could even consider getting that long. At the moment, it was easy to understand why people would mistake me for a man at first. Aragorn had longer hair than I did!

I snorted and shook my head. "Trust me when I say Pretty Boy, that if I hated you, you would already be dead. You just happen to seriously piss me off."

Legolas shook his head and I was happy to see that he didn't get it at all. That was probably cruel, but I didn't care, I found it highly amusing. I started to move away only to feel his fingers curl around my arm once more and stop me. I turned on him, with fury lighting my features. "What is your problem?" I demanded. "Seriously? Can't you get that I don't like you and leave me alone?"

"Than should I take it that you only like your sister?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

I started to protest and then stopped as my stomach sank. He was right. I hated even admitting it in my head, but he was right. I didn't like people. I had worked so hard to make people think that I hated them that I almost did. After all, it was so much easier to hate people than to let them get close to you and find that they betrayed you instead. "How I feel, is none of your business."

"It is my business when it might endanger my companions and our mission," he snapped back at me.

I wasn't sure if it made me happy to see that pretty boy had grown a spine or if that was just my sick and twisted emotional spectrum. "Oh yes," I said instead. "The infamous ring that has to be destroyed. I'm not going to screw with your mission if that's what you think. As far as I'm concerned, you all can go on your merry little way while Jamie and I go and hunt down our sister."

"But will you?" he pressed.

I gritted my teeth and looked away. So he had noticed the growing time that Jamie was spending with Boromir. While I might want to look for a way out of this place or Thea, Jamie was determined to stay with Boromir and I had vowed to protect her with everything that I had. I couldn't just leave her on her own with the Nutty Crusade.

We both stood silent staring at each other in some kind of contest that I might have lost. "Look, I'm not going to lie to you and say that we're going to be all buddy buddy while we travel with, around, or after you guys. I don't know you people. I don't trust you either. The only reason we'll be going is because Jamie thinks she needs to and as long as she goes, I go. I would and will do anything for my sister. That means if anything out there or if any of you even look at her wrong, I'll have your hides. Don't forget that or take it lightly."

Legolas nodded. "I think we finally have a true understanding of each other than Lady Anne for I would do the same for my companions against you," he vowed.

I snorted and shook my head. "We have not even begun to understand each other pretty boy and I want to keep it that way." This time he let me walk away and I wasn't sure if the feeling in my stomach was relief or disappointment. It was kind of aching though which I wasn't used to. I was always in control and these people were taking that from me. The sooner I left it all behind, the better.


	18. Thea the Lover

I woke up with my hands and cheek resting on a warm chest with two arms wrapped around me. I had read about this kind of thing before in some of the romance novels I had dared myself to read, but I had never thought it would actually happen to me, or that it would be so comfortable. I turned and looked up at Theodred's relaxed features, wishing I could have brought myself to tell him what had happened before I had started kissing him.

Even as that thought entered my mind, I dismissed it. I couldn't tell him.

There was no point in telling Theodred what had happened. It was my problem and I just had to find a way to deal with it. My sisters and I never depended on anyone else to fix our issues and that wasn't going to change. Even if Theodred was a warrior who seemed to want to protect me from everything. He had also named me a warrior after a sort as well. Warriors did not run to others when they had a problem.

Besides, there was still the issue of who had threatened me. Even though I had slept with Theodred it didn't guarantee that he would believe me. I didn't want to risk that he might not and make myself feel like I was just some whore. They would probably think of me as one if they even knew what he and I had done. I had a feeling that premarital sex wasn't a real big winner in this society.

I traced my fingers along his bare chest remembering exactly what I had done the night before. Annie was going to kill me when she realized what had happened. Alright, she wasn't going to kill me, but I would receive a lecture about being responsible. Though, in all reality, the thought of a lecture from Annie was far more intimidating than if she ever attacked me. Annie wasn't the kind of person who normally lectured anyone. That was usually my job. And, of course, Jamie would think it was wonderful which wouldn't help my position with Annie at all. Then again, Jamie was the only one of us actually able to believe that everything could have a happy ending.

If only I could have a happy ending.

Blue eyes opened to look down at me, smiling happily at the sight. "I never expected that," he murmured with a soft chuckle. "Though, I shall never say that I regretted it either," he admitted. The admission wasn't hasty but it wasn't insulting either. He was simply confidant enough in what he believed to not consider that I might doubt him. And I didn't.

His lips brushed mine gently and I felt a chill run down my spine. He tasted like honey and ale. I didn't want to let this moment go. Lying with Theodred, I felt like a queen. I felt safe and loved. Some part of me, the part that was a little like Jamie, couldn't help but wonder if he would ever want me as his queen. He was a king's son after all, but I knew better than to entertain that thought for long. Besides, I couldn't stay. I would have to leave one day.

"I enjoyed it too," I confessed with a blush. "I've never..."

"I know," he murmured. This time, he took his time and seemed to enjoy himself as he kissed me. And I let him. I happily forgot about the world around me. I allowed every worry and stress that pressed around me to simply fall away because I did not want to lose this moment. I did not want the beauty of this reality whether it was real or not, to leave me. I just wanted a few more moments where I could live without a care.

A sigh came out when the kiss was broken. I'm not sure if it was more from contentment or if it was for the words that I had to say next. "You have to go soon."

His flinch made me wish that I could have simply kept my mouth shut. I had allowed the real world to intrude on this paradise and now that that floodgate was open, there was no way that I would be able to close it. I wanted to though. I would have given almost anything to take back those words and to allow the outside world to remain that way for however much longer that I could.

"You're right of course," he agreed. Despite his words he didn't move and for a moment... for a foolish moment I hoped that maybe we could stay that way. Those hopes were crushed. He shifted me first, his warm hands gentle on my arms as he made sure that I rested on the bed and not him before he moved to stand.

Despite my desire to see him stay, his bare ass was a beautiful sight to me. That was a thought I had been certain that I would never have, but I was awarded a full view of it as the covers fell away. "What will you be doing today?" I couldn't help but ask.

He shrugged as he began to his clothes and armor. "I have to start a patrol today. Just out to the border and back. I'll be gone for three days though. Twas what I came to tell you last eve actually."

I felt a little sick to my stomach knowing that he was going to be gone soon. The thought horrified me. He was my protection. I knew his cousins of course, but only just. Theodred was my companion. "Just be careful, okay?" I ordered. "I won't be there to protect you this time."

He chuckled softly as he turned back and clasped my chin, giving me one last kiss as if to remember him by while he was gone. As if that could have ever been an issue. "My lady, I have something to return to. How could I not but be careful?"


	19. Annie the Listener

I stared at the field that was just beyond the main, and probably only, city in Lothlórien as they called it. I just wanted to grab Jamie by the hand and drag her out of this place. Then again, I also wanted to wake up and find out that this had all been a dream. But none of us get what we want. At least not in my experience. I had wanted someone who could help me protect my sisters. Thea had wanted someone we could trust. Jamie had wanted someone who could take us far, far away.

I suppose, in some sick and twisted way, that last one had finally come true.

"Lady Annie?"

I didn't have to turn around to know that that was Haldir. I didn't want to talk to him, or any of them for that matter. But I knew that he was right behind me and there was no way I was going to be able to avoid him. I could try, but that would likely only annoy him even more and as happy as that would make me, annoyance highs honestly didn't last that long.

I sighed and forced myself to turn around and face him when all that I really wanted to do was tell him to leave me the fuck alone. But that would have been rude and likely gotten me in more trouble then I cared to think about.

Instead, I just stared at him, waiting for him to say something. It took him a moment before he realized that I wasn't going to say anything. "The Lady Galadriel requests your presence in the city."

Whatever I had been expecting him to say, it hadn't been that. I stared at him for several seconds before screwing up my face in confusion. "Really?" I asked. "Or do you mean to say that she wants to see the Fellowship and I'm being included for some odd reason?"

Haldir shook his head. "No, she wishes only to see you," he assured me.

I felt even more confused as I nodded slowly. Why in the world would she want to see someone like me? I hadn't made my dislike for any of them subtle for any reason no matter how nice they had been to me. And while Thea would have told me that I was being unreasonably rude, I kept reminding myself that Thea wasn't with us and every moment we were stuck with these people was a moment we couldn't look for our sister.

I sighed and gestured for Haldir to lead the way and fell in step behind him, wondering what in the world the woman could want from me. Maybe she was going to tell me that they were tired of my behavior. A smirk tipped my lips at that thought. It wouldn't have bothered me. I would have been able to believe it actually.

It was even starting to bother Jamie and her sister had the tolerance of a saint. Some small practical part of her mind said that she should back off but another part reasoned that maybe if they made her go, Jamie would go with her and they could find Thea and the way home. But given the way that Jamie kept looking at Boromir...I didn't want her to have to make that choice and it made me hate them all that much more.

The city really was beautiful. It seemed unreal and I knew that was why I didn't like it. I had never allowed myself to indulge in dreams. Dreams were too dangerous. They gave you false hopes, allowing you to believe in things that would never happen. I hated taking those dreams away from Jamie, but I knew that I couldn't indulge in them. I had to be the practical one in the family. Thea tried to be, but I could see the wistful look in her eyes sometimes. She dreamed almost as much as Jamie did.

And this city was certainly a place of dreams.

Shaking my head, I continued on and up into the trees, using the spiraling staircase that encompassed the tree trunk until I came to the almost chamber like area that we had been shuffled to that first night we had found Jamie. Or that I had found Jamie and the Fellowship had officially taken over my life.

Galadriel stood at the far edge, staring out at nothing that I could see. Haldir bowed to her and without saying another word, went back down the stairs. I considered following him for a few seconds, but knew that I would only sit around wondering why she had wanted to talk to me in the first place. Once I had my answer, then I would be able to get myself to leave without a care.

It seemed like forever before she actually turned to acknowledge me, that knowing smile on her ethereal face. She was like a personification of the city that she apparently ruled, far too perfect for me to trust.

"I thank you for coming to see me Annie," she said inclining her head to me. "I know that you do not wish to be here so I shall try to be brief." Despite her words, she still paused for a moment as if she was trying to find the right words. "There is a strength in relying on one's self, but you should not always be so alone in the world."

My body was stiff instantly and my guard went up. "I'm not alone," I snapped. "I have my sisters. One of which I can't go off to find because Jamie has herself convinced that she can't leave that guy Boromir."

"He is a worthy male," Galadriel said as she took a step closer to me. "You simply refuse to see the worth in anyone besides your own blood."

"Worth?" I laughed bitterly. "I've seen men and women who think that they have worth and I've seen what they do to those who are weaker than them who they think have no worth. I'm not making that mistake again."

Galadriel tilted her head to the side as she studied me. "So you believe that it is only you and your sisters who hold any worth in this world?"

I gaped at her for a moment. It was horrible when she put it that way. But she was wrong about one thing. I didn't count myself as a person of worth. A person of worth would never have allowed their sister to be raped by an adult who was supposed to care for them. I wouldn't have been so afraid.

"You don't know me," I managed instead. "So stop pretending that you do."

Galadriel sighed softly. "I am sorry that you feel that way Annie and I hope that one day…these things shall change."

I bit back a sharp retort that I might have given to anyone else and just turned away instead. I needed to find Aragorn. Maybe he would be in the mood for a sparring lesson. I could use with the workout.


End file.
